Mind & Heart Newsletter: June 2024
An update from Whitworth University President Scott McQuilkin
For my creaky and arthritic right shoulder, Commencement Weekend ceremonies make for an exaggerated dose of ibuprofen. The elevated achiness, a result of 500-plus enthusiastic handshakes from inspiring Whitworth graduates, qualifies as the very best kind of shoulder pain. Those tablets help me to reciprocate the joy I see in the graduates stepping toward me with hands extended, beaming faces and broad smiles. Not great for the kidneys, but so worth it in the grand scheme of things. What a special set of days!
At the close of the Sunday morning baccalaureate service, I am permitted the last word to our graduating class before they robe and tassel up. What an immense privilege to offer these exceptional students a blessing and a charge. At this place, where they were invited to ask tough questions, build lifelong friendships, grow in their faith and prepare for a vocational life, I reminded our students about the blessings received through their Whitworth experience. That was our part, the faculty and staff. The equipping. It is now up to them, as graduates, to live out the three verbs of the mission statement – honor, follow and serve. I have great confidence in how these graduates will honor God, leading lives of integrity uncommonly seen. I am convinced our graduates will follow Christ, modeling Jesus as people who demonstrate grace and truth. And these newly minted graduates will serve humanity, bringing a redemptive arc to the many spaces they will soon occupy. I closed with Isaiah 49:15-16, verses I hope they will forever claim, deep within their bones. The text is one of promise. Isaiah informs us that the names of God's people are engraved in his hands. Etched. Permanent. "You, graduates, are known, by the One to be known by." That is blessed assurance.
14 Spring Term Highlights
1. The Whitworth Jazz Ensemble, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Jared Hall '08, experienced an unforgettable spring. Fresh off a Spring Break tour of Thailand with the Whitworth Wind Symphony, the jazz ensemble won first place in its division at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Four students – Max Cannon '25, Ricky Gagliardi '24, Nate Moody '26 and Will Strauch '27 – received Outstanding Soloist Awards. Congratulations to all!
2. International studies major Connor Wodehouse '24 is a recipient of the prestigious Boren Scholarship, issued by the National Security Education Program. Wodehouse, who just graduated, will spend four months in Tanzania participating in the African Flagship Language Initiative. Wodehouse participated in Whitworth's Tanzania Study Program in 2022 and spent last summer there through the U.S. Department of State's Critical Language Scholarship Program. Three students from our political science department have received the Boren Scholarship in recent years.
3. Elementary education major Makenna Falkenstein-Barker '24 was awarded the Governor's Student Civic Leadership Award in April by the Washington Campus Coalition for the Public Good. As a community engagement advocate for Whitworth's Dornsife Center for Community Engagement, she mentored youth at West Central Community Center and coordinated many service opportunities for our students throughout Spokane. We commend Makenna for the significant impact she made on the local community during her time at Whitworth!
4. Whitworth hosted students from across Eastern Washington for the annual Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference (SIRC) in April. A whopping 83 Whitworth students showed off their work via poster or oral presentations, and four students received Distinguished Poster Awards. Congratulations to biochemistry students Landon Vyhmeister '25, Grace Robinson '25 and Maryam Almafrachi '24 and computer science major Temuulen Amarjargal '25 for their honors.
5. Whitworth has launched Pines Press, a publication imprint under the Washington State University Press. This new academic press will provide Whitworth faculty with greater opportunity to share their scholarship. Look for the first Pines Press publication early next year!
6. Our English majors make us proud. Whitworth Honors Program students Megan Necochea '24 and Abigail Ruffcorn '26 had their work – a short fiction piece and photograph, respectively – published this spring in Scribendi, a Western Honors Council literature and arts magazine. Over Spring Break, Melinda Mullet '25 won first place and Elisa Vigil '25 received an honorable mention in the creative nonfiction category at the convention of Sigma Tau Delta, an English honor society.
7. The Arguing Bucs wrapped up another successful forensics season, winning the national championship in debate at the National Christian College Forensics Association's tournament in March. In the season-long standings, our varsity debaters took third place out of over 215 schools.
8. In addition to shaping minds in the classroom, our faculty teacher-scholars make incredible contributions to their academic fields. Check out their achievements on our new Faculty & Staff Accomplishments webpage at www.whitworth.edu/accomplishments. Congratulations to all, including the following faculty members who recently published books or received fellowships:
- Charles Andrews (English) has authored The English Modernist Novel as Political Theology: Challenging the Nation.
- Benjamin Brody '97 (music) has authored the hymn book At the Weaving of Creation.
- D. Berton Emerson (English) has authored American Literary Misfits: The Alternative Democracies of Mid-Nineteenth-Century Print Cultures.
- David Henreckson (Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning) has been awarded a fellowship through the Center for Christianity and Public Life.
- Megan Hershey (political science) has co-authored Africa's Urban Youth: Challenging Marginalization, Claiming Citizenship.
9. Whitworth has been named a 2024-2025 Top-Ten Military Friendly® School by Viqtory Media. This is the eighth consecutive year Whitworth has been recognized by Viqtory, and the second time the university has made the top ten list in our category. We are proud to honor and support our veteran and military-connected students.
10. The Office of Church Engagement received a grant for over $1.2 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish the Compelling Preaching Initiative, designed to deepen preachers' practice of proclamation in community with fellow preachers. The OCE will host a Preacher Retreat in late June and launch online and in-person preacher cohorts led by trained facilitators in the fall. For more information, visit www.whitworth.edu/preaching.
11. Whitworthians near and far showed tremendous generosity during our giving events this year! On One Pine Day in February, 806 donors from 34 states and seven countries made a gift, fully funding nine crowdfunding projects. Another eight projects were more than 50 percent funded. View a thank-you video and learn about the projects at www.whitworth.edu/one-pine-day. Plus, in November, 389 donors supported Whitworth Athletics during the first Athletics Day of Giving, funding 17 projects to benefit Pirate student-athletes. We are grateful to the Whitworth community for providing opportunities, resources, equipment and access for our students.
12. Congratulations to two student life staff members who received honors this spring. Tim Caldwell, associate dean for student life, community standards & compliance, received a silver 2023-2024 NASPA Excellence Award in the category of Campus Security, Crisis Management, Student Conduct, Community Standards, and Violence Prevention. And the Rev. Stephy Nobles- Beans '03, '17, who retired last month as the associate chaplain for diversity, equity & inclusion ministry, received Providence's Sister Peter Claver Humanitarian Award.
13. Whitworth will welcome Joe Hughes as the new associate vice president of marketing & communications in July. Joe comes to us from The College of Idaho and is the father of three Whitworth graduates. We're eager for him to lead our marcom office in sharing far and wide about Whitworth's enduring mission and the transformative experiences offered to students.
14. Whitworth reclaimed the Northwest Conference McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy this spring, capping a strong year for athletics! The Pirates won the NWC titles in men's basketball and men's swimming during the winter season. The men's basketball team also won the NWC tournament and reached the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs after defeating Cal Lutheran on the road. Zachary Washburn '24 was the NWC Men's Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season and an NCAA All-American in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. In the spring, the baseball team made the NWC tournament and reached the championship game after the Pirates were picked last in the preseason coaches poll. Both track & field teams finished second in the NWC. Cody Wheeler '26, champion in the javelin and hammer, was the NWC men's Field Athlete of the Year. Amblessed Okemgbo '26 finished sixth in women's discus at the national NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championship, earning All-America honors.
Upcoming
Enrolling for Fall 2024 | There's still time to become a Pirate!
We are excited to welcome the incoming class to Whitworth this fall! Our new students come with many gifts and abilities, and it is a privilege to provide them with a mind-and-heart education. We are still accepting applications (www.whitworth.edu/apply) and awarding financial aid through early August, and many students are still working through their decisions. Transfer students have until July 1 to apply by our regular fall deadline (www.whitworth.edu/transfer). Please contact the admissions office at admissions@whitworth.edu or 509.777.4786 with any questions.
President's Leadership Forum | Oct. 9, 7:30-9 a.m. | Spokane Convention Center
Whitworth University will welcome former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney as the featured speaker at the President's Leadership Forum. She will speak on topics such as leadership, diplomacy and the future of politics in America. Details and registration are available at www.whitworth.edu/plf. Look for more Election Year Speaker Series events this fall at www.whitworth.edu/election-year.
One Big Whitworth Weekend | Oct. 11-13
Whitworth alumni, parents and families are invited to enjoy our combined Homecoming and Family Weekend this fall. There will be many family-friendly activities and opportunities to connect with Whitworthians of all ages. We'll also welcome reunion classes of 2014, '04, 1994, '84 and '74 back to campus and host a special reunion for former members of the football team. To register, go to connect.whitworth.edu/obww-24.
Core 650: Race Across America | May 23-June 2, 2025
Alumni, parents and friends of Whitworth are invited on an exciting trip to South Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana next spring. Professor of Sociology Jason Wollschleger will offer a condensed version of his Jan Term Race Across America course, leading Whitworthians to historic sites in our country's quest for racial equality and civil rights. For details, visit www.whitworth.edu/race-across-america-2025.
Closing Thoughts
As I write this note, we are in those crucial weeks when so many of our current and prospective students are analyzing their finances. Gifts to the Whitworth Scholarship Fund are door openers. That generosity empowers more students with a mind-and-heart education. Through those gifts, our faithful donors are a vital bridge that connects students to Whitworth and ultimately to their calling in the world. If you are able, please visit connect.whitworth.edu/heart to make a gift, and of course to any area you are passionate about. We are ever so grateful.
Scott McQuilkin